Hanger for the frames of pictures, mirrors, and the like



l atented Aug. 12, 1952 ,UNITED'STATE-S PATENT OFFICE HANGER FOR THE FRAMES OF PICTURES, MIRRORS, AND THE LIKE John G. Bryn, New York, N. Y. Application May 22, 1950, Serial No. 163,463

The present invention relates to hangers for the frames of pictures, mirrors and the like, and the primary object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved hanger of this kind which avoids the disadvantages inherent in such hangers as have been heretofore used or proposed.

The ordinary picture wire arranged at the back of the frame and having its ends attached to the sides thereof for hanging pictures, mirrors and the like has many disadvantages. Apart from the labor of attaching it to the frame, it is difficult to adjust the length of the wire between its attachments on the frame to support the frame at the desired height on a wall or other support or to avoid exposure of the wire to view above the frame, and if the wire is sufliciently short to be concealed behind the frame, as is usually desirable, it is difficult to engage the wire on the hook, nail or other support on the wall as such support is invisible when the frame is placed in position against the wall. Furthermore, the picture wire usually has a tendency to curl, making it difficult to engage it on the hook or other support on the wall. Hangers have been proposed in various forms with the view to obviating such disadvantages in the use of the ordinary picture wire, but such previously proposed hangers have been either expensive to manufacture or diificult to use by the ordinary person, or not capable of use with supports of different kinds or sizes on the wall, or have not been entirely satisfactory for other reasons.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide a hanger of the kind referred to which, when attached to the frame of a picture, mirror or the like, is concealed from view but may be readily located and engaged with a hook, nail or other support on a wall to mount the frame in the desired position thereon, without requiring any adjustment comparable with that required when the ordinary picture wire is used.

Another object is to provide an improved hanger of this kind which is capable of accommodating itself to hooks, nails or other types and sizes of supports secured to the wall without disturbing the position in which the frame hangs.

Another object is to provide a hanger of this kind which enables the picture or other frame to be balanced or levelled on a wall and which will retain the frame in level position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hanger of this kind which can be manufactured inexpensively, and which may be applied universally to frames having top rails which are narrow or of other dimensions.

2 Claims. (01. 248-29) The preferred embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanying drawing wherein- Fig. 1 is a side elevation of'a picture or other frame supported by a hook on a wall by a hanger embodying the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of a portion of 'the frame, showing the improved hanger attached thereto.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but indicating the manner in which the hanger is engaged'by a supporting hook on a wall. f L

Fig. 4 is a vertical section taken on'th'e line 4-4 in Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section taken on the in Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the improved line 55 hanger before attachment to the frame,

Fig. 7 is a detail section on an enlarged scale, taken on the line 1-7 in Fig. 2.

Similar parts are designated by the samejreference numerals in the different views.

The improved hanger comprises a rigid platelike body I0 adapted for attachment to the picture or similar frame, and a suspension wire ll connected thereto and positioned thereon for engagement with a hook, nail or othersimilar'support on a wall or the like. The body If] is preferably punched in one piece from sheet metal of appropriate thickness to afford the requisite strength and stiffness, and formed into shape; .It comprises a frame engaging portion [2 which is flat and adapted to be secured against the rear face of the top rail [3 of the picture or other frame, this frame engaging portion being preferably provided for this purpose with an aperture 14 between its ends to receive a nail. screw or other suitable fastening device It adapted to'be driven into or otherwise secured in the frame, and a suitable number of pointed spurs l6 which are punched from the body portion and are bent at substantially a right angle to the plane of the body portion, and are adapted to be driven into the top rail of the frame. Preferably, and as shown, a pair of these spurs are provided'whi'ch are punched from the body portion below its upper edge and are located respectively at opposite sides of the aperture 14, these spurs not only assisting the fastening device 15 in securing the hanger to the frame but also preventing tilting or swinging of the hanger on the fastening device [5 and thus becoming displaced relatively to the frame. The hanger is adapted to be applied to the top rail of the frame near its upper edge, and its fastening devices are so 10- cated that the hanger may be attached to a narrow as well as a wide top rail of the frame.

The body of the hanger is suitably formed with portions between which the suspension wire is adapted to extend horizontally when the body is attached to the frame. Preferably, the body is formed integrally with a pair of legs ll which extend downwardly from the frame attaching portion l2 in laterally spaced relation, and the ends of the suspension wire H are connected to the lower portions of these legs to extend between them. The ends of the wire may be connected to the legs in different ways, it being preferable to staple the wire to the legs by forming the lower portions of the legs with apertures 18 and passing the ends of the wire through these apertures from one side of the legs and looping or clenching the ends IQ of the wire at the other side of the legs.

The portion of the wire which extends between the legs is adapted to be engaged on a hook, nail or other suitable support on a wall or the like X to support the picture or other frame thereon, the support on the wall being shown for example as a well known form of hook 20 composed of a strip of metal having its upper end folded to receive a nail 2| which is usually driven into the wall in a downwardly inclined direction, and the lower end of the strip is turned up in a direction away from the wall to form the hook portion 22.

The legs I! of the hanger are of sufficient length and are spaced apart laterally a sufficient distance to receive and accommodate between them hooks, nails or other supports of different will extend toward the wall for engagement of the suspension wire on the hook or other support on the wall when the frame is placed against the wall for hanging.

The suspension wire II is relatively short as distinguished from the ordinary picture wire heretofore used, but it is of sufficient length to enable the frame carrying the picture or the like to be shifted laterally to engage different portions of the length of the wire with the hook or support on the wall to balance the weight of the frame and the picture, mirror or the like carried thereby when a single hanger is used and lssecured to the frame in the center of its length, or substantially so, or when the frame carrying the picture, mirror or the like is heavy, two or more of the hangers may be attached to the top rail of the frame at different points in its length to engage hooks or supports substantially correspondingly secured to the wall, the spaces between the legs of. the hangers and the length of the suspension wires being sufficient to compensate for lack of registration between the hangers on the frame and the supports on the wall.

The suspension wire I l is preferably composed of relatively soft metal or other suitable material which is pliable, so that the portion thereof which is located between the legs of the hanger may bend upwardly under a downward force applied manually to the frame after the wire has been properly engaged with and balanced on the hook or support on the wall, whereby lateral shifting of the frame into an unbalanced position will be resisted or prevented. In order to compensate for shortening of the length of the wire incident to such upward bending or deflection of its intermediate portion, the apertures IS in which the ends of the wire are looped or stapled are made larger than the cross-section of the wire and the looped ends of the wire are engaged loosely in these apertures so that the ends of the wire may be drawn toward one another when its intermediate portion is bent or deflected upwardly.

The present invention provides a hanger for picture and similar frames which can be manufactured inexpensively, the body being capable of production by punching and forming it from sheet metal or other suitable material, and the suspension wire being capable of being connected thereto as by stapling or other simple operation.

The improved hanger, when attached to a picture or other frame, enables the picture or the like to be placed in the proper or desired position against a wall with greater facility than has been possible when the ordinary picture wire attached to the sides of the frame is used. In order to hang the picture or the like, it is only necessary to place the same against the wall with its upper edge tilted slightly away from the wall and with the suspension wire on the hanger positioned directly above the hook or other supporting device on the wall, and to lower the frame to bring the wire to rest on the hook or supporting device. When a pliable suspension wire is used, as is preferable, the picture or other frame may be manually drawn downwardly after the wire has been engaged on the hook or support on the wall and the frame has been positioned laterally relatively to the hook to balance the weight of the frame and the picture, mirror or the like carried thereby.

I claim:

1. A hanger for picture frames and the like, comprising a body composed of sheet material and having an upper portion designed for attachment to the frame and a pair of legs integral with and extending downwardly rigidly from the respective ends of the upper portion and lying substantially in a common plane, the legs being spaced apart laterally and forming a space between them which is open at the bottom, the lower ends of the legs being provided respectively with apertures, and a suspension wire composed of pliable material spanning the open bottom of the space between the legs and engageable by a support on a wall by a lowering movement of the hanger relatively thereto, the support-engaging portion of the wire being bendable upwardly by a downward force applied to the frame, and the ends of the wire being looped loosely through the respective apertures in the legs to compensate for shortening of the wire incident to the bending thereof.

2. A hanger for picture frames and the like, comprising a body composed of sheet material and having an upper portion designed for attachment to the frame and a pair of legs integral with and extendin downwardly rigidly from the respective ends of the upper portion and lying substantially in a common plane, the legs being spaced apart laterally and forming a space between them which is open at the bottom, and a suspension wire composed of pliable material spanning the open bottom of the space between the legs and engageable by a support on a wall by a lowering movement of the hanger relatively thereto, the support-engaging portion of the wire being bendable upwardly by a. downward force applied thereto by the frame, and the ends of the wire being movably connected to the legs to compensate for shortening of the wire incident to the bending thereof.

JOHN G. BRYN.

6 REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,242,868 Rogers Oct. 9, 1917 1,600,919 Baalsrud et 2.1 Sept. 21, 1926 2,483,114;

Van Schoor et a1. Sept. 27, 1949 

